Wire fabric bending and feeding apparatus



y 1953 R. F. STOCKTON 2,637,365

WIRE FABRIC SENDING AND FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 20, 1950 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 14YMOIVO fi'jroc/rro/w INVENTOR.

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May 5, 1953 R. F. STOCKTON WIRE FABRIC BENDING AND FEEDING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed NOV. 20, 1950 A w A fiqmloxva E .iroc/rrozv,

INVEN TOR.

Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE WIRE FABRIC BENDING AND FEEDING APPARATUS Raymond 'F. Stockton, Sunland, Caliii, assignor to Ray Stockton Wire Products 0.0. Ina, "Bub bank, Califl, a corporation of California Application November 20, 1950, Serial No, 196,644

"3 Glaims. (Cl. 153-28) This invention relates to a wire fabric bending and feeding apparatus, and may be considered as an improvement over the disclosur made in my copending application Serial No. "100,989, filed June 24, 1949.

In my copendin appiication there is disclosed a machine for making a form of selfeiurring metal lath such as is employed at corners both inside and outside for the application of plaster. In accordance with the disclosure therein made a plurality of zigzag wires are produced and laid in partially overlapping relationship in which positions they are spot welded together. Longitudinall-y extending wires may or may not be positioned on the overlapped zigzag wires and welded thereto. After being thus formed, the strip is longitudinally bent at about its center into a form approximating that of a right angle and the outermost portions of the outermost wires are cent laterally either inward or outward as desired so as to space the body of the strip from the supporting structure, thus enabling the applied plaster to enter behind the wires and enable selffurring.

Inasmuch as only portions of zigzag wire overlap each other the thickness of the strip varies from a single thickness of Wire to two and sometimes three thicknesses of wire. Although it is desirable to produce the bending of the metal lath by means of rolls, the unequal thickness of the lath at the various points mentioned makes it difiicult, if possible, to properly feed the strip through the rolls. If'the rolls are rigid there is not only a tendency forslippage to take place, but there is danger of the spot welds being broken thereby.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for forming or bending the wire fabricated strip longitudinally and which will bend the outermost portions of the outermost wires laterally as desired and which is so designed that those portions of the rolls which are opposite portions of the strip which are of unequal thickness are of resilient compressible material. In this manner not only will the proper feed of the material be secured, but the rolls may accommodate or adjust themselves to the unequal thicknesses and danger of breaking'the spot welds can be avoided.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the same;

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are sectional views taken substantially upon the lines 3-3, 44, and 5-5 upon Fig. 2, respectively;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating an alternative form of construction; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one form of the finished product.

Referring to the accompanying drawings '5 These portions of the various wires where they are in mutual engagement are spot welded "to each other, and if desired, longitudinally extend ing wires 28 and 21 are positioned thereover and are spot welded thereto at the points or engage ment. The wire fabric thus produced initially is in a fiat or substantially flat condition indicate at '22 on Fig. 1, and it is desired to longitudinally bend or fold this fiat fabric into approximately the shape shown cross-seotional1y in Fig. .5, or in the alternative into the cross-sectional shape shownin Fig. 6.

The apparatus embodying the present inven tion consists of upper and lower frames 24 and 25 that are adjustable towards and away from each other such as :by bolts .26 having right and left-hand threads which screwed into nuts on the frames. The bolts 28 .On being rotated will serve to adjust the frames towards away from each other.

0n the pper frame 24 there are bearings for three transverse shafts arranged one behind the other, such shafts being indicated at 21, 23, and 29. On the lower ,frame there are likewise bearings for lower transverse shafts 30,, 3|, and 32. These lower shafts are arranged in vertical alignment with their respective upper shafts and are designed to be synchronously driven by means of a ,chain .33 which is trained over sprockets on their outer ends and which is driven from any suitable source of power. (3n

the lower shafts 30, 3|, and 32 there are removably mounted in any suitable manner solid rubber rolls 34, 35, and 36 arranged to engage the bottom surfaces of upper rolls 31, 38, and 39 on the upper shafts. The upper rolls have their centers formed of solid resilient rubber as indicated at 40 but are flanked at each side by metal plates 4| and 42. These plates may be held in close engagement with the side faces of the center portions 40 in any suitable manner or as by rivets 43. Adjacent each pair of rolls there is mounted a supporting bracket 44 which rotatably supports a forming or bending roll. Thus, adjacent the first pair of rolls 34 and 31 there may be a bending roll 45 arranged to partially bend upwardly a portion of the wire fabric. In a similar manner, adjacent the second pair of rolls 35 and 38 there is another roll 46 arranged to bend up the fabric to a still greater degree and adjacent the last pair of rolls 36 and 39 there may be a final forming roll 41 arranged to bend the fabric vertically or substantially so. As will be observed in Fig. 5, the plate 4| is laterally thickened adjacent its center forming an arcuate surface 48 against which the upwardly bent fabric may be pressed causing the outermost portions of the fabric to be bent laterally outward as indicated at 49. The rolls 31, 38, and 39 may all be equipped with plates 42 which are so shaped as indicated at 50 as to bend the other margin of the fabric laterally as indicated at Each of the lower rolls 34, 35, and 36 may have its corner rounded as indicated at 52 complementary to this lateral bending.

As the fabric 2| is fed to the apparatus it will be engaged by the first pair of rolls 34 and 3! and by their associated roll 45 which bends the fabric longitudinally into approximately the shape shown in Fig. 3. From this station the fabric passes to the rolls 35 and 38 and is bent into the form shown in Fig. 4. At the third station provided by the rolls 36 and 39 the fabric is bent into its final form as shown in Fig. 5. As is indicated on Fig. 5, the diameter of the rubber core or center portion 40 may be slightly in excess of the diameters of the plates 4| and 42, but as this rubber is highly compressible it may be crowded therebetween in the course of its engagement with the Wire fabric which, as above explained, is of uneven thickness. Consequently, the mutually engaging rubber portions of the rolls accommodate themselves or adjust themselves to the uneven thickness and continue to feed the fabric through the apparatus at a constant or uniform rate. In the course of this movement of the fabric through the three progressive stations the fabric is bent into the desired shape. Thus, the edge 50 of the plate 42 serves to bend the outermost portions along one margin downwardly while the roll 41 is bending the fabric about a solid hard edge formed by the edge of the metallic plate 4|. At the same time the curved surface at 48 causes the marginal portions 49 to be bent outwardly.

In Fig. 6 an alternative form of construction is disclosed wherein the plate 42a has its edges oppositely beveled as at 50a and the lower roll is shaped complementary thereto. Likewise, the plate 41a is indented as at 48a and the roll 41a is shaped complementary thereto. The alternative construction shown in Fig. 6 is designed to merely bend the marginal portions of the strip inwardly instead of outwardly as shown in Fig. 5. In other respects the operation is substantially the same.

Although the lower rolls and the center portions of the upper roll might be formed of rubber that is of uniform resiliency throughout, in the preferred form of construction the lower rolls have their center portions formed of rubber stock which when cured will form relatively hard rubber cores. Only the peripheral portions of the lower rolls need be formed of highly resilient rubber. The center portions of the upper rolls may likewise be formed of two grades of rubber stock so that the center portions or cores thereof are of hard rubber and only the peripheral portions are highly resilient,

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that in the improved bending or forming apparatus the wire is bent against hard or rigid surfaces. Furthermore, those portions of the rolls which engage the wire and feed it through the apparatus are resiliently formed so that they may accommodate and adjust themselves to the variation in thickness of the fabric.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wire fabric bending and feeding apparatus comprising a series of pairs of opposed rolls between which the fabric can be fed, one of said pairs of rolls consisting of a rubber roll and its opposed roll having a rubber center and metal plates flanking the rubber center, said plates having edges arranged in opposition to the rubber roll, one of said plates presenting an outer side face shaped in radial section to conform to a portion of the shape of the finished product, and a roll arranged in opposition to a portion of said side face to press a portion of the fabric against said face so as to be shaped thereby.

2. A wire fabric bending and feeding apparatus comprising a series of pairs of opposed rolls between which the fabric can be fed, one of said pairs of rolls consisting of a rubber roll and its opposed roll having a rubber center and metal plates flanking the rubber center, said plates having edges arranged in opposition to the rubber roll, one of said plates presenting an outer side face shaped in radial section to conform to a portion of the shape of the finished product, and a roll arranged in opposition to a portion of said side face to press a portion of the fabric against said face so as to be shaped thereby, the other plate on the mentioned roll having its edges shaped in conformity with a portion of the finished product and that portion of the rubber roll in opposition thereto being shaped complementary there- 3. A wire fabric bending and feeding apparatus comprising a series of pairs of opposed rolls arranged in alignment and between which the fabric can be fed, means adjacent some of the rolls for bending the fabric longitudinally as it passes therebetween about an edge of one of the rolls, the rolls of the last pair consisting of a rubber roll and an opposed roll having a rubber center and metal plates flanking the rubber center the edges of which are arranged in opposition to the rubber roll, one of said plates being arranged over the line of longitudinal bend of the fabric as the fabric passes therebeneath and presenting an outer side face shaped in radial section to conform to a portion 5 of the shape of the finished product, and a Number r011 arranged in opposition to a portion of said 1,492,533 side face to press a portion of the fabric against 1,816,594 said face so as to be shaped thereby to the 2,471,490 shape of the finished product. 5 2,506,182 RAYMOND F. STOCKTON References Cited in the file of this patent Number UNITED STATES PATENTS 440337 Number Name Date 10 107,216 Blood Sept. 13, 1870 Name Date Poole Apr. 29, 1924 Lechvinka July 23, 1931 Mercer May 31, 1949 Toubhans May 2, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Feb. 5, 1927 

